Personal Injury Lawsuit Virginia allow a person who has been injured due to someone else’s negligence to pursue some sort of compensation for their injury or affliction. In strict legal terms, this explicitly implies that the plaintiff is seeking compensation from the defendant.
This article aims to summarize the most common outcomes of any personal injury claim and the extent and form of compensation they provide. However, it is important to note that not all states of the US work on a uniform understanding of the same rules when it comes to personal injury law or claims. The contrast could be in the trial or courtroom process, type and extent of compensation, and defendant’s liability to other penalties among various other differences.
The injured party drops the case
In some cases, the injured party may change their mind and decide not to pursue a lawsuit centering on personal injury claims. This can happen due to many reasons, one of which could be that the costs of pursuing such a case would diminish any valuable returns that are expected out of the proceedings. Nonetheless, dropping a case will have the following effects:
- The injured party will not be compensated.
- The prosecuting or injured party may be liable to pay their lawyer’s fees.
- In case of a mistrial or a dropping which is not based on an agreement between the defendant and the plaintiff, the injured party may be liable to pay the other side’s legal costs.
- The injured party could lose their right to relaunch the claim or submit a new one.
The case does not go to trial
Most personal injury claims never even make it to trial. In fact, statistics indicate that around 95% of personal injury claims and cases usually conclude in an out-of-court settlement.
Settlements are formal contracts between the two involved parties. They generally outline an agreement where the plaintiff agrees to drop the lawsuit in exchange for compensation, which in most cases is financial compensation. These agreements have to be presented to a judge before they can be said to be legally binding.
It is important to note here that settlements do not have to be uniform or alike. Even the same injury can have different effects on different individuals, and hence the levels and types of compensations also vary. Generally, most settlements award medical treatments or cover property repair.
The injured party wins the trial
If a public injury claim case goes to trial in a courtroom, there are only two ways that it can turn out. The first possibility is that the claiming party or the injured party emerges victorious. This obviously means that they are liable to receive compensation, ordered by the judge. In a lot of cases, the judge also has the authority to revoke certain privileges or rights of the defendant, like suspending driver’s license, etc.
The defendant wins the trial
In the case where the defendant wins, the injured party, very understandably, will not receive any compensation for their injury. In addition to this, they must also cover the taxable costs of the defendant which includes filing and witness fees.
Verdict gets appealed
In either case of being a defendant or a plaintiff, you are entitled to appeal the decision up to thirty days after the judgment. In this case, the appeal will go to a higher court, which will reevaluate your case and either uphold the verdict or overturn it